Beyond those noted in part 1 and part 2 of my natural home-cleaning series, here are a few more of the practical and Earth-friendly tips and tricks I've picked up over the years while investigating green home-cleaning solutions. If you have some eco-cleaning wisdom of your own that you think other readers might benefit from, please use the comments section below to share them.

Cool! Only berries or other stains, too? How did you discover this technique!?

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Written by Pilgrim , May 28, 2010

To get berry stains (strawberries, raspberries, etc) out of fabric for good put the kettle on and wait for it to boil. Immediately pour the hot water on the stain until it dissolves. This really works, but make sure you boil quiet a bit of water depending on the size of the stain (a full kettle should be good for a small-medium stain).

Cinnamon is an ant deterrent! I didn't know that! Did you know you can spray cayenne pepper water on your garden plants to effectively keep squirrels away?

And it sounds like baking soda has many more uses than we give it credit for. I don't know if baking soda is a "naturally occurring" product, but I do know it is non-toxic and does not pollute water supplies. In fact, I can eat baking soda in quantity with only over-alkalinity as an immediate result. Not that I eat baking soda, personally.

With regards to matches, I don't wanna spend too much energy on them, but since you asked for my conceptual opinion, Debby:

For me, when comparing the reason I use matches vs. the reason one uses air fresheners, they are not interchangeble. Matches instantly absorb very specific bathroom odors, if you know what I mean. Air fresheners emit scent into air continuously, which only combines with (rather than absorbs) the specific bathroom odor I am speaking of, making a very fruity pooty smell. Not at all like the instant one-time removal of the odor with one little match.

For me, also, I try not to recycle. My goal is to purchase no products at all. Including ones that need to A) be thrown out or B) be recycled because, for obvious reasons in the former, and the latter: recycling plastic and metal takes more energy than producing new plastics and metal and the transport, manufacture and redistribution of these recycled plastic or metal products isn't saving the world. Paper recycling is another matter, from my research.

Now, I don't have all the answers, but like everyone, I have an opinion ... the match I use once/week, going through maybe 6 books/year, degrades much quicker than a bottle or plastic container recycles or degrades. And the good news about matches is that they, like baking soda, are not "naturally occurring" but are non-toxic:

"Finally, by 1910, the general public's awareness of the dangers of the white phosphorous in these matches led to a worldwide campaign to ban them. Thankfully, Diamond Match Company obtained an U.S. patent for the first nonpoisonous match, which used the harmless chemical sesquisulfide of phosphorous in place of the deadly white phosphorous."

http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/match.asp

Anyone have any more tips and tricks to share?

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Written by Teri , November 05, 2009

I use a natural airfreshener call Air Therapy by Mia Rose. It's biodegradable, containing only the oils of spruce, fir trees and orange peels. It comes in a recyclable aluminum container. And no propellants--just a mister.

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Written by Debby Grant , November 05, 2009

I'm not sure matches contain less chemicals than air freshener products, Tonya. Are you sure this is a good eco alternative?

I like to put baking soda and cinnamon down on rugs before vacuuming our few carpets in the house. Smells wonderful and is supposedly an ant deterrent too! At least cinnamon around my tent works when camping.

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Written by jc , November 04, 2009

I leave an open box of baking soda in my refrigerator to absorb smells and then after a few months use it as an abrasive to clean my stove top, or pour it down my kitchen drain to deodorize generally and to clean my disposal blades.

That's why I eat raw vegan, Joanna! Because I dont like to clean. I'm not kidding, this diet means: no trash to take out, no sticky oils and grease to wipe off, no pans to clean, no stove, microwave or other gadgets to wash, and no cockroaches on the inside either, if you know what I mean. I'm just a lazy kat who eats raw to not have to clean! And you might be, too, by the sounds of it!

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Eco Quote

The packaging for a microwavable 'microwave' dinner is programmed for a shelf life of maybe six months, a cook time of two minutes and a landfill dead-time of centuries. — David Wann, Buzzworm, November 1990 >More quotes...